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San Antonio, Chile
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San Antonio ("Saint Anthony") is a major Chilean port and a commune in San Antonio Province, Valparaiso Region. It is the capital of the Province of San Antonio, within Region V of Chile, and is the hub of the fishing area that spans the Chilean coast from Rocas de Santo Domingo to Cartagena.
Geography
The city lies on hills and coastal dunes, immediately north of the mouth of the Maipo river and is crossed in two sections by estuaries, of Arevalo to the north and of El Sauce in the section of Llolleo.
The city is located at 33 35' South and 71 37' West. It is bordered on the north by the commune of Cartagena; on the east, by the commune of Melipilla (ciudad) and the river Maipo; on the south, by the same river and by the communes of Santo Domingo and San Pedro; and on the west, by the Pacific Ocean .
It comprises an area of 502.5 square kilometers.
Climate
San Antonio enjoys a mediterranean climate with coastal influences. The average annual temperature is 14 C . Annual precipitation of 570 millimeters is concentrated in June, with an average of 134 mm.
History
Nomadic hunters and gatherers were the first inhabitants of Chilean territory. In this central coastal zone are evidences of ancient habitation extending back about thirteen thousand years.
The city was 80% destroyed by the 1985 Chile earthquake.
The port of San Antonio was shut down by the 27 February 2010 earthquake, but had resumed operation at 80% capacity by 3 March 2010. Bloomberg News, "Chiles San Antonio Port Returns to 80% Capacity", Rodrigo Orihuela, James Attwood, 3 March 2010 (accessed 4 March 2010) After the quake, only 5 of the 8 docking points at the port resumed operation. Latin American Herald Tribune, "Chilean Port City Gets Back to Work after Quake", EFE, 9 March 2010 (accessed 9 March 2010)
Demography
According to data collected in the census of 2002 by the Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas (National Institute of Statistics), the commune of San Antonio then had an area of 405 square kilometers and a population of 87,205. Of these, 44,362 were female and 42,843 were male.
Governmental Administration
San Antonio forms part of the 15th and 6th Electoral Divisions ("Fifth Coast") in elections to the Senate of Chile; the current senators are Nelson Avila (of the Radical Social Democratic Party) and Jorge Arancibia (Independent Democratic Union). It is represented in the lower house of the National Congress of Chile, the Chamber of Deputies, by Edmundo Eluchans (Independent Democratic Union and Samuel Venegas (Radical Social Democratic Party.
The Illustrious Municipality of San Antonio itself is headed by the alcalde ("mayor"), Omar Vera, who is advised by six councillors:
Pedro Pina (of the Communist Party of Chile)
Ramon Silva (Christian Democratic Party of Chile)
Danilo Rojas (National Renewal)
Fernando Nunez (Socialist Party of Chile)
Jose Martinez
Omar Morales (Radical Social Democratic Party)
Culture
San Antonio was the site chosen by the writer Cristian Berrios as setting of the story Flores mustias (wilted flowers).
References
Sources
Citations
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article San Antonio, Chile